Improved draught-bar for horse-cars



LTRENT. 4

Car Pole. l Si? Patented` Feb. 8, 1870.

Vform horse-car.

. upon the end ofthe platform.

strut @pitre JOSEPH TRENT, or M1 Letters Patent No. 99,7 30,

LLERTON, NEW YORK.

:lated February 8, 1870.

IMPROVEU DRAUGHT-BAR FOR HORSE-CARS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

VTo all 'whom it lmay concern:

Beit knownv that I, JOSEPH TRENT, of Millerton, in the county of Dutchess, and State of New York, have inventedncertain new and useful Improvements in Gars for Horse-Railroads, and I hereby declar that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this specification,

The object of my invention it to relieve the legs of draught-animals of the greater part of the strain consequent iu starting a street-car.

Io such end, therefore, myinventiou consists in the combination with the platform ot la street-car of a spring and lever, sc arranged that tlhe drawing of the lever outward, as in the act of starting a car, will opcrate the spring, and hence a gradual overcoming of 'the ineltia of the car is effected, thereby greatly relieving the legs and feet of the horses of the excessive strain necessary to start a streetcar of the ordinary construction.

'In the accompanying drawing- Figure l shows my invention, as applied to a plat- Figure 2 shows the ordinary hook, located below the bottom of the car, at the point, vertically, where the draught-power is usually applied.

Figure 3, in red, shows the relieving spring em# `ployed in combination with the lever, 'arranged near the end ofthe car.

I have illustrated only Vso much of a car aswas necessary to show the application thereto of my invention, A designa-ting the platform, and B the dash-board of a. platform street-car.

C designates a lever, one end ot' which is pivoted, in any suitable manner, to the dash-board B, or it may be pivoted or jointed to any suitable suppoiting block I have shown a lug, a, which projects from the dash-board, and is provided with a shank, which passes through said dash-board, and is held in place by a nut on its end or otherwise.

To the lower end ot' this lever a rod D is pivoted,

:which rod is connected toaI spring, in such manner as -to effect the compression of the spring when the lower end of said lever is drawn outward, as in the act of starting the carby a draught-animal or animals, such as horses hitched to avwhiietree or whiletrees, E, boltedorpivoted to said lever.

The style of spring I have shown is a quadruple vothe said spring will be c tion with the lever, as elli ylute spring, for which a patent was granted to me on the 7th day of April, 1868, the said spring being so arranged that its forward end will bear against va sill or beam of the car, as shown in figs. l and 3, or against any suitable support or block, the rod D passingthrough said spring, and drawing against the rea-r or opposite end of the spring, so that, on drawing the rod Outward,

ompressed. 4

I desire here to remark that I do not limit my invention to any particular' style of spring in combinaptical and many other kinds of springs would answer the purpose.

The devices shown4 in iigs. l and 3 are identical, except that the lspring in fig. l is located near the ceutre of the body ofthe car, and in iig. 2, near theend.

Many obvious and important results are obtained by the above-described improvement. The inertia ot' the car may be readily overcome, and thereby the horses legs are relieved of the great essarily occurs in starting a horse-car as atl present constructed; the former is a gradual overcomin g of the inertia of a body, and the latter the putting ot it in motion by a sudden jerk. I am, ofcourse, aware that springs are employed-in the bui'ers of railway-cars, especially to prevent jarring in starting and concussion in stopping. But the new element I add in a horsecar, namely, a lever, to which the draught-animalsare att-ached, is particularly adapted to .a horse-car, for the reason that the poweris at presentl applied either below or ou aline with the bottom of the car, thereby causing great strain on the horses legs, by reason of its'being so far below the horizontal line ot' his shoulders; but with the lever-arrangement I- have illustrated, the power can be applied at a point more on the plane of a horizontal line drawn from the shoulders ofthe draught animals, thereby rendering the starting ofthe car and the hauling lof the same exceedingly easier, all of which will be readily understood by reference to gs. l and 3.'

What I claim as myinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is g The combination, with the platform of a street-car, 'of a lever C, rod D, and volute or other suitable spring, substantially as and for the purposes herein specified.

JOSEPH TREN I. Witnesses: f

M. M. LmNGsToN, T. B.BEE0HER.

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